Best iPhone 5 concept photos

We can tell you everything you need to know about the iPhone 5, but we can't tell you yet what it will actually look like. Luckily the Photoshop legion have taken the initiative to show us what the future might have in store. Here's our pick of the best iPhone 5-inspired dreams.

Pick a card

We've heard that the iPhone 5 may have a curved screen, but this is ridiculous. This bendy AMOLED iPhone concept by Flickr user Vchenjingyuangel (also shown in our main image at the top) shows exactly why flexible screens are both cool and often totally impractical. We'd appreciate being able to flex our iPhone without it breaking, but this wafer-thin concept looks like it's better suited to doing card tricks than making calls. 

Banana phone

One of the things we miss most about the iPhone 3GS is the way it spun around when lying flat on the table. It was fun to fiddle with, and the curved back also made it easier to orientate when we whipped it out of a pocket. The flat-bottomed iPhone 4 is easier to use when laying flat, but it's impossible to sort the right way up without a good hard look. This concept puts the curve back on the iPhone 5 with a silhouette that's reminiscent of a banana phone.

We don't know the source of this razor-sharp concept, but we got our copy from Le Journal du SmartPhone. If you made it, let us know, because we'd love to give credit where credit is due.

iPhone nano

This iPhone 5 concept by NAK Design clearly takes some inspiration from Apple's metal-shelled iPod nanos. We're quite keen on the look and we wouldn't mind our expensive new phones being wrapped in sturdy protective metal. It would make it pretty chunky, though.

iPhone Air

The edge-to-edge display on the iPhone Air concept by Ciccaredesign is delicious, as is the way it tapers towards the front. If we were going to get a cheese-wedge for a phone, it would be this one.

Bubblicious

This bubbly concept by Alternative Industries shows off a screen that dominates the entire face of the phone. We like that -- more screen means more room to fling angry birds around. We're not quite as keen on the bubbly background, but we're sure you could change that to a picture of your own face pretty easily.

Full-screen phoning

Antonello Falcone has also gone with a dominating screen, but this one dispenses with the colourful bubbles to provide a clean, smart design. We'd be amazed to see a phone like this with absolutely no bezel around the screen. Still, we can dream.

Gloss boss

This super glossy design from Roman Sima reminds us a little of the curved black screen of the Nokia Lumia 800. A phone encased in curved glass would look undeniably stunning, but give it a few days in a pocket with some keys and it'll soon look battered and bruised.

Skinny latte

German mobile blog Handyflash fantasises about enjoying a steaming hot cup of coffee with this pancake-thin iPhone 5. Paltry concerns like having room for a battery trouble us not -- this is one good-looking concept, and almost believable, except for the "iPhone 5" label stuck below the home screen button like an ill-advised tattoo. However, gripping the sides would require the dexterity of a spider monkey opening a Jammy Dodger.

iPaddy

This simple but effective mock-up of an iPad 2-inspired iPhone 5 is similar to the one we massaged out of an iPod touch. This concept followed the news that the iPhone 5 may have a metal back like its tablet big brother.

We couldn't find the original on the credited blog, Macotakara, but who are we to question such a confident watermark?

The real thing

This rendering of an iPhone 5 was outed last year by iDealsChina, saying it was sent to case-makers to help them design their gear. However, since we're not likely to see the iPhone 5 until September, we doubt Apple started sending out renders to mould makers back in March 2011. However, we are willing to believe the iPhone 5 will sport a larger 4-inch screen, as the image suggests.

Help me iPhone 5, you're my only hope

This demo video uses the iPhone to show off Waterworks Productions' graphics work. Despite being of almost no practical use, having a blue hologram pop out of the iPhone 5's screen is undeniably cool. Get on it, Sir Jony.

Keeping it real

Joy Studios offers this thoughtful concept phone based on several of the hottest iPhone 5 rumours. The home button gets nixed in favour of a touch-sensitive gesture area like the one on the Palm Pre, and the screen gets bumped up to 4.3 inches.

Snark

Cartoonist Dan Piraro may not have mastered the slick screen reflections that are required to to make it as an Apple phone stylist, but he's captured the innovative spirit of the iPhone 5. Free pie? There's an app for that.

Think you can do better? So do we. Hit up Google SketchUp and whip up your own creation, and upload it on our Facebook wall. We'll be giving a shout-out to our favourites. In the meantime, head on over to check out our fave iPad 3 concepts.